Review of
Instaread Summary of All the Single Ladies Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent
Nation by Rebecca Traister
Four out of five stars
Given the often
heard phrase “traditional marriage” in the modern political theater, all people
in possession of some knowledge of history understand what it means. For
centuries, women had few career paths, so for many their only hope for a decent
life was to enter into a marriage. Until recently, the laws were quite clear,
any property she had was immediately forfeited to her husband’s control and as
a married woman she could do little without her husband’s permission. When a
conservative utters the phrase “traditional marriage,” they are describing a (thankfully
lost) world where married women had few rights. However, in much of the world,
women are still bound into what is culturally still a traditional marriage that
has aspects of slavery.
Fortunately, in
the western world that has changed, yet it is always a good idea to be reminded
of the way things used to be and in some places still are. This summary
describes a book that does that. It is a combination of history and sociology
and the discussion is restricted to the current situation in the United States.
Poverty issues
are raised in the book as well, there are some that think the solution to
single women living in poverty is for them to get married. While this will work
for some, such a “solution” is a simplistic statement that does not take into
account facts such as low wages, lack of suitable partners and the fact that
for some, getting married will put them further into poverty. Two unemployed or
underemployed people can fall faster into debt than a single person in similar
circumstances.
This summary
raises many issues regarding the most complex relationship that humans can
engage in short of that of a parent and child. While there are direct hints of a
personal agenda on the part of the author, most of the summary avoids falling
into that potential void. In reading this summary, I was convinced that it is
worth reading, as it delves deep into the changes taking place in the role and
purpose of marriage in the modern United States.
This book was made available for free for review
purposes.
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